White Follows the Grey
by The Storm Alchemist
Summary: The disputes of the past remain unsettled. Uprisings, slaughters, war, they are lumped into these three catigories. How is one more correct than the others?
1. White Follows the Grey

Time Frame: Frankly, I am not sure where this would fall into the series. I haven't not finished watching all of it yet.

Name explination: If you look very closely in the upper-right hand corner of the pictures of Ed and Al in front of a human transmutation circle, you will see the words "white follows the grey," thus the name of this fanfic.

* * *

"Sir, I have a letter for you," a hotel worker called out as Ed walked through the lobby. The young blond turned to look at the man. He thought that it was a little odd that he would know someone who had only just checked into the hotel by name and looks.

"You are the Full Metal Alchemist, right?" The worker asked, noting Ed's confusion. "Someone came in with an envelope, said that the Full Metal Alchemist was staying here, and gave me a description. You match the description and…"

"Yeah, that's me." Ed cut him off and strode over to the desk. He pulled the small white envelope out of the worker's hand and examined it for a moment before shoving it in his pocket. He didn't need to ask who it was from, the front of it carried a familiar transmutation circle on it, the same one that rested on the back of Colonel Mustang's gloves. For the moment, he didn't question why someone would put a circle that could turn air flammable where anyone could activate it. He simply assumed that Colonel Mustang had not thought that far into the future or was hoping that something happened to the letter so that he could put it on Ed's record.

By the time he reached the room where he and Al were staying at, room 103, he had almost forgotten about the letter, it probably only held another description of a pointless mission that Ed would threaten to ignore. The room was somewhat shabby, but the bet was comfortable and the covers were warm enough that Ed was willing to overlook the threadbare carpet. Al was sitting on the bed closest to the door, his heavy metal frame causing the bed to sag in the middle.

"What's in your pocket?" Al asked, spotting the edge of the envelope.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about it." Ed pulled it out and opened it up. His eyes scanned over it once and he froze. "No way!" he muttered in disbelief. He read it again, slower this time, and then a third time.

"What is it?" Al asked again.

Ed looked down at the end of the note. In the margin, hand written by Roy, was "You may not tell anyone, not even Al."

Following the instructions, Ed threw the letter in the trash and activated the transmutation circle on the envelope. Soon, there was nothing left but ash. Ed sighed an looked at Al. He offered a weak smile, but that did little to sooth his younger brother's fears.

"Hey, Al, my automail is getting a little dirty on the inside, and I think that I might have grown a little, how about we go and visit Winry?"

* * *

The soft rocking of the rain began to put Ed to sleep. Hehad not slept well for the past week, Al noted, ever since he got that letter. Three times he had woken up in the middle of the night, once he had been screaming. Whenever Al questioned his brother, Ed would clam up so much that Al felt guilty for asking.

"Are you ok, brother?" Al asked when Ed woke up.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just getting a little sleep." Ed sat up and cleaned a little bit of drool off of his face. He then yawned and stretched out as much as he could in the cramped quarters.

"I told you that you drool in your sleep." Al laughed.

"I do not!" Ed shouted back. "I just…errr! Hey, are we here already?" Ed stood up just in time for the conductor to put the breaks on. He promptly fell into Al's lap.

"Yep! We're here!" Al helped his brother to his feet and stepped out of the small booth.

They gathered their small amount of luggage and disembarked. The station was crowded with many people going to different locations, but Ed seemed not to notice any of them, even when one of them called him short. His eyes were darting around, searching for something, but Al did not know what.

"Hey, can you wait here for a minute, there is something that I need to get." Without saying anything else, Ed darted away from Al.

He reappeared some time later with a box under his arm. It was long and wide but was no more than two inches tall.

"Does that have anything to do with the letter?" Al asked, instantly regretting it.

"Sort of, I'll explain soon, I just want to talk to Winry first ok?" Ed shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the letter, but tried to hide it. Inside, he was busting to tell Al about the letter. He needed to talk to someone about it, he needed someone to perhaps comfort him, he wasn't sure.

"Alright. Lets get going then!"

Together, they walked to Winry and Pinako's house in silence, there was simply nothing to be said. A few times, Ed tried to start up a conversation, but he could never think of any thing to say. There were too many things on his mind, too many things that he could not even talk about.

They reached the house by sunset. The son set behind the house, the yellow and red clouds making it appear that the house was burning. Ed cringed at the thought. If Al noticed anything, he didn't show it. Other than the dramatic effect from the setting sun, the house was much like how they remembered it from their last visit.

Winry was the first to spot them walking up the road. She ran out of the house and stood on the front porch.

"You better not be back because you broke your arm already!" She screamed at Ed and waved a wrench threateningly.

"No! The arm is fine!" Ed raised his right arm and pulled up his sleeve to prove it to her.

"Good!" She squawked, lowering the wrench. Assured that there was no more work for her, she ran up and greeted her two childhood friends. Al was extremely excited to see her again, but she noticed that Ed was somewhat distant.

"Ed, are you alright?" She asked, placing her hand on Ed's metallic shoulder, snapping him out of a trance.

"Oh, nothing!" Ed answered, leaving Winry very confused. "Actually, can I talk to you alone for a bit, you and Pinoko."

"Yeah, sure, lets just get you and Al settled in first." Winry took one of the small bags that they were carrying and led them into the house. The greetings with Pinoko were short and Ed soon found himself in a room with her and Winry.

"What is going on?" Winry asked as soon as the door closed. "You have been nothing but doom and gloom, Al is worried sick and so am I! Please, just tell me what has you so worked up." Tears began to well up in her eye and she grabbed his hand, ignoring the feel of hard metal under the soft glove.

"Can Al stay here for a while." He asked, biting his lip and ignoring the question. "I have a long mission up next, and I cant bring him along."

"Certainly," Winry said, taken aback. She had not expected him to tell her everything, but she had expected that he would at least let her have some clue. "Is something wrong, what is the mission about?"

"I cant tell you, I cant tell Al! Hell, I'm not even allowed to tell you why I cant tell you!" Ed signed and collapsed into a chair after the sudden outburst. "I don't know anything either, not even how long I will be gone. It might be more than a year, I just want to make sure that Al is well taken care of."

"How is Al taking it?" Pinoko asked, reminding them that she was still in the room.

"He doesn't know yet." Ed admitted. "I don't even know how I can tell him. This will be the first time that we have been apart since we burned the house, did you know that?"

"And you were rarely apart before that either," Winry reminded him. She brushed his hair out of his eyes and forced him to look at her. "You'll get through this, you always do. And as soon as the mission is over, you can pick right up where you left off. You can even find that stupid stone and replace your beautiful shiny metal limbs with soft, gushy flesh."

"Thanks Winry. I'll tell him tomorrow. I just have to pick something up before I tell him." Ed smiled some, thinking of the small box that was sitting under his bed at that very moment.

"Is it what you called about?"

"Yeah."

* * *

It may be a lot to ask of some people, but I have one request for anyone who chooses to review. All I ask is that you be truthful. I don't think that i should have to plead like this, but so many people have told me that this is a horrible site where no one helps They just give you a pat on the back and say "great job" even if your story is not fit to line the bottom of a birdcage. I want to prove them wrong! Please, help me out by making me a better writer, that is my only goal and you are my only method to achieving it.

Be truthful, tell me if something needs to be changed.

One quick note on factual errors: I have a dial up connection so I can't download episodes. I dont want to look up things on the internet for fear of spoilers (which my friend make useless by telling me about Hughe's fate). Therefore, I see the episodes one time and that is it. I also dont know whathappens untilCartoon Network airs the episode.I applogize if I have made a mistake, please tell me, but also, please be understanding.

**Thank you very much for reading the first chapter to "_White Follows the Grey._"**


	2. Green Lions Break Line and Lead

While I love yaoi, I do not believe that Ed would ever sleep with Al or Roy. I will not go into my views on Ed/Al yaoi, but I will say that, no matter how it may look at one point in this chapter, there is NO Elric-cest.

Oh! and this is AU and it sort of breaks off for the series sometime before Episode 25, that is all I know about its placement.

* * *

"Al, I have something for you!" Ed called before he peered into the room that he shared with Al. 

"What is it?" He asked excitedly.

"Close your eyes." Ed instructed.

Al could tell that Ed was messing around with his armor, even though he could not feel it. He "felt" him put something inside, something that hardly fit. After that there was a long pause before Ed told him to open his eyes again.

When he opened his hands, Al saw Ed standing in front of him with a mirror so that he could see into his armor. There, curled up on blankets and a bed, was a small white and orange kitten. Its wide brown eyes were wide open and staring back into the mirror.

"A kitten! Thank you, Ed!" Ed scooped it out of his stomach and held it close to his face. The tiny animal let out a cry and tilted its head to the side. Playfully, it took a soft swat at Al's face. Still excited, he lowered the kitten down to where Ed could reach it.

"This way you wont get lonely." Ed explained, rubbing the cat behind the ears.

"What do you mean? I never get lonely, I always have…" Al froze for a moment, "…you. What's going on, brother?"

"I have to leave for a little bit, I want you to stay here with Winry. Keep her safe if something should happen." Ed looked away

"If what happens? You aren't making any sense!" Al grabbed his brother, the cat forgotten about.

"I can't tell you, I'm not allowed to. I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice, I'm just a dog of the military." Ed pulled away from his brother and left the room. "I'm sorry," He called back.

"Brother…" Al whispered. He sat down on the bed, still looking at the closed door.

"re-oew" The cat cooed, rubbing against him. He petted it and placed it back on its bed.

"It's ok kitten, at least I think it is."

* * *

Everyone crowded around the dinner table, including Al even though he could not eat any of the food. The atmosphere was heavy and no one was certain what to say. Winry wanted to ask Al how he liked his kitten, but she was worried that it would bring about talk of Ed leaving since it was a going away present. Near the end of the meal, Pinoko broke the silence. 

"Excuse me for asking," she said after swallowing a bite of food, "but are things as bad as they say that they are? With Ishbal I mean."

"Things are pretty bad over there from what I've heard. The people are really poor because of all the devastation, plus they don't have alchemy to help them out." Ed shrugged and placed his fork on his plate. Talking about them made him uneasy.

"That's not what I meant. I heard that some of the locals there are joining large gangs and organizing battles with the government." The old lady said.

"Oh, I don't know anything about that." Ed looked down at his food, his appetite had left him. He hated lying to people. "Diner was great, but I think I'll go upstairs now. I have some work that I need to do."

Ed left the table and put his plate in the sink. As he passed by the dog, he slipped it a table scrap even though he knew that it was officially against the rules, not that anyone followed it. Even Pinoko, the one who enforced the rule, gave that dog food from the table. The dog wagged its tail happily and licked Ed's hand when it finished.

He climbed the stairs and sat on his bed. He laid flat on his back and looked up at the ceiling. He hating sleeping on his back, it reminded him of when he lost his limbs. How he had laid in pain for several weeks, flat on his back. A shudder passed though his body as he realized that he could very easily end up in that same position once again, wreathing in pain. He sat up, unable to deal with the thoughts anymore. He pushed them to the back of his mind and got out of bed.

He pulled a small calendar out of his pocket and scratched another day off. The very next day was colored in with red. Colonel Mustang would pick him up and take him to central tomorrow. It could very easily be the last time that he saw Al. A tear slid down his face, even though he claimed to never cry. What if something happened to him, who would help Al get his body back?

"Brother," a small voice said from the door way. Al stepped in and saw the tear that had just fallen to the floor. Ed did not say anything, but he simply walked up to Al and hugged him.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that. The hard sharp armor jutted into Ed's soft body and scraped along his metal arm, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that they were together.

* * *

Early the next morning there was a firm knock at the door. Pinoko opened it to see three men standing in military uniforms, only one of whom she recognized as Armstrong. The one in front had black hair and looked somewhat familiar, though she could not quite place him. 

"Excuse me, I am Colonel Roy Mustang, I have come here to collect the Full Metal Alchemist. Is he here?" Roy asked in his best military voice. He knew that it still sounded like he was asking if Ed could come out and play, but he couldn't think of a better way to ask.

"Yes, but he is still asleep, hasn't had breakfast or anything." Pinoko moved to the side to allow the three men to enter, regretting it almost immediately. The third man, the one she did not recognize, spotted a table covered with framed photographs and he dashed over to them. His eyes landed on a picture of three small children and he scooped it up.

"Are these your kids?" He asked, almost unable to contain his excitement.

"Certainly not! The girl is my grand-daughter and the other two are the Elric boys." She was not sure what to think of him.

"Hughes!" Roy bellowed, but it was too late. Hughes was already digging out his wallet, which was now a mini photo album.

"Do you want to see pictures of my little girl?" He asked, almost jumping up and down.

"This could take a while," Roy said off hand. "Can you tell me where Full Metal is so that I can get him while he is showing off his kid?"

"I'll show you where he is," Winry, who had heard the commotion and come downstairs to investigate, said in a soft tone.

"Thank you." Roy smiled at her, inwardly reminding himself that she was far too young for him, and followed her upstairs.

"Keep an eye on your pocket watch Sir, last time I was here she wanted to take mine apart and see how it worked." Armstrong whispered into Roy's ear as they trudged up the stairs. The colonel nodded and put his hand in his pocket, feeling the watch to make sure that it was still there. He did not actually believe that he girl would steal it, but he had learned to never judge people before he knew them.

The three of them turned left after reaching the top of the stairs and entered the last door in the hallway. As Winry opened the door, she peered in to make sure that Ed wasn't changing clothes. The thought of knocking never crossed her mind.

She, as everyone else, was confused to see two empty beds. At first, Roy was about to yell that they had run off and command Armstrong to do a search for them, but then the saw something in the corner, a shape. Curious, he went into the room and opened the blinds, allowing light into the room. It was as he had thought.

Al was sitting on a chair with Ed sitting on his lap and leaning against him, fast asleep. Al's arms were wrapped loosely around to prevent him from falling. Ed squirmed as the light hit is face, but he did not wake up.

Winry walked over to them and put her hand on Ed's mechanical shoulder. She shook it gently until his gold eyes opened. He smiled at her but did not get up at all. Then, as the rest of the world came into focus, his heart skipped a beat. Horrible images began to play through his head. Blood, death, children crying in the streets. They blinded him, made him irrational. He no longer cared about dignity, only keeping himself away from that.

He wrapped his arms around his brother and held on as tight as he could, as though Roy would just leave if he could just hold a little tighter and a little longer. Al, having woken up, held his brother in return, also wishing that a firm grip could prevent Ed from being taken. He was not certain what had frightened his elder brother, but he was frightened all the same.

The night before, Ed had been ready to leave. He still had not wanted to, but he had accepted his fate. 'But that was last night,' he realized, now he was too frightened to go with Roy. Over the night, he had changed his mind, having woken up twice in a cold sweat. Now, even as he looked up at Roy, the horrors ahead of him played in his mind, intermingling with visions of the past. He saw Winry's parents laying dead with a young Roy standing over them. Then, even worse, he saw himself standing over them, looking down and knowing what he had done.

"Its time to go." Roy commanded in a firm tone.

"No!" Ed screamed, halting the gruesome slide show that continued to play in his head.

"I thought that we might have to deal with this. Armstrong, if you will." Roy stepped to the side to allow the Strong Armed Alchemist to pry Al's arms away.

"I'm sorry," Armstrong said before taking hold on Al's hands. He was just strong enough to keep them off of Ed.

"No!" Ed yelled again in protest. He felt Roy's arms wrap around his waist and pull him away from his brother. He still held as well as he could, he kicked and squirmed to the best of his abilities, his dignity forgotten. He was convinced that if he went with the commander, he would come back dead. Despite his attempts, he felt himself be pulled away from Al.

He shrieked like a wounded beast, every muscle is his body tensed up. All that mattered was staying close to his brother, they had to stay together. They could not allow anything to separate them, if something did, Ed was convinced that he may never see him again.

Armstrong released Al's wrists and helped Roy restrain Ed. He feared that the colonel was not strong enough to hold him and that he might drop him. Casually, Armstrong slung Ed over his shoulder, leaving out the speech about how that hold had been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. He looked at Al and Winry. Both were wearing faces of concern. He gave them a reassuring smile before heading out the door.

Ed lashed out in one last desperate attempt. His fingers dug into the wood of the doorway. His metal arm allowed him a firmer grip than anyone else could have managed. Armstrong's full force could not pull him away. The wood snapped and splintered, some of it finding its way into his living arm.

Colonel Mustang watched with intensifying rage. His control began to slip from his grasp, it was not long before it had been abandoned. He grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him out of Armstrong's weakening grip, throwing him to the floor. The young alchemist had not had time to recover when two rough hands grabbed him and pulled him up by the color of his shirt. Nose to nose, Mustang shouted at him.

"This is the military, not a daycare center!" Mustang screamed so loud that his body began to tremble with the rage flowing through it. "You knew that there was a risk when you signed up! If you cant deal with that, I'll charge you with treason and desertion and I'll execute you right here! Now, suck it up and show some backbone!"

Everyone in the room had frozen, except for Roy. Such an outburst had been expected from Ed, but Roy's had come from out of the blue. Still filled with anger over the young Alchemist's childish behavior, Roy threw him to the ground stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He had had to get out of the room before he hurt someone. He did not trust himself to be around Ed for much longer.

Inside the room, Winry, Ed, and Al looked at one another. Armstrong had been outside of the room when the door slammed and he did not dare to enter again. They listened intently to every sound that floated up from the floor below. They could hear Roy stomping down the stairs and screaming at Hughes. Another door slammed and they waited to hear a car start up, but they would be left waiting.

The door creaked open and Hughes poked his head in. After being sure that it was safe, he stepped in. Without saying a word, he picked up Ed's small bag and looked down at him.

"I'll be down in a second, I just have to say my good byes." Ed said, getting to his feet once more.

* * *

Thank you very much for all of your help. I truly enjoyed reading your reviews. I hope that I have fixed some of the problems in this chapter, mostly the spelling now that my beloved beta is back (she had computer problems for a few weeks) 

**Kitana**-(grumbles,) I got the spelling of her name from you, bad beta! Thank you for Beta-ing my story (Again)! I cant wait to work more on "The Talk" Oh, and see what happens when you aren't around, people find out what a bad speller I am. Thank you for comming back!

**Holli**- Thank you very much for your review. Is this chapter ending better?

**Phe Phe**- Thank you! hee hee, I suppose by putting Hughes in there I sort of have to have a cut off date now, don't I? I forgot about that before I got your review, thank you!

**Angeldust**- Just wait until it gets a little deeper into the story if your're looking for angst. Enjoy your trip, I'll miss you when your gone!

**Chris:** Thank you for your kind comments even though you were not nice enough to share them with everyone else. (Traslation: review next time, i cant remember what you said)

(Note: Anyone that I was at all mean to, it is because they are my good friend, I would not harrass them about spelling names wrong (Kitana) otherwise because chances are it's my fault.)


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